Apax Partners Sells Final 10% Stake in Genius Sports

Genius Sports’ largest shareholder has sold its remaining shares, according to a Wednesday morning press release. British private equity firm Apax Partners had previously owned 20 million shares or just under 10% of the data company.

Apax had been unwinding its stake in Genius over the past year. In September, it started selling 23 million shares, which left it with 31 million at the end of 2023. Apax’s stake was reduced to 20 million shares after the first quarter of 2024. The block sale was to new and existing shareholders.

Apax acquired a majority interest in Genius Sports in 2018 and injected $35 million in capital into the company to fuel the expansion of its global sports data and analytics business. In 2021, Genius went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: GENI) with a SPAC merger, reducing Apax’s stake to about 28% of the company.

Genius’ stock closed Tuesday at $5.45 and is down 12% year-to-date. The stock was flat at the market open.

A large share sale could be bearish for Genius stock in the near term—20 million shares is roughly 12 times the volume Genius shares will trade in a single day. But it could be positive for the business in the long run. The sale of Apax shares will expand the float—shares freely available to trade in the market—potentially making it more attractive for outside investment funds to buy stock in Genius. Investment funds are sometimes wary of owning so much of a stock that they can’t buy more or sell some in the future without dramatically affecting the share price. The company has telegraphed that it has wanted to attract a new long-term shareholder base.

“Today marks the conclusion of a very successful partnerships, and we look forward to welcoming this next chapter with the ongoing support of our high-quality institutional shareholders,” Mark Locke, Genius CEO and founder, said in a statement.

Apax acquired Genius when revenue was $85 million. The company reported revenue of $413 million last year and expects to generate $500 million in revenue in 2024.

The Apax sale leaves Locke as the largest shareholder, followed by Caledonia Investments and the NFL.